Hoy and Kenny keep it friendly but barnstorming Olympic battle looms at the Velodrome

Sir Chris Hoy is in one of the great Olympic battles of his life. Against his room-mate, the 23-year-old Bolton boy who could hijack his London 2012 dreams.

Jason Kenny, wirier and more hare-like than the knight of the track, is newly anointed world champion after Frenchman Gregory Bauge was stripped of the title for a drugs offence.

The match sprint between Hoy and Kenny is an unmissable part of cycling’s World Cup, starting at London’s new Olympic velodrome tonight, because there is only one place available in each discipline at the Olympics.

Rivals: Sir Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny

‘We just talk about anything really,’ said Kenny of the room-mate banter. ‘It’s only racing at the end of the day. We’ve yet to fall out over it — well, majorly anyway.’

Their relationship has proved resilient as their individual fortunes have soared and waned. Hoy won gold to Kenny’s silver in Beijing. Kenny then imposed himself. But Hoy regained his national title last October. Lastly, Kenny triumphed in the Revolution meeting in Manchester last month.

There is only this week’s test event and the World Championships in Melbourne in April to resolve the near-insoluble contest.

But just how do you drop triple Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy, even if he will be 36 when the Games begin?

Shane Sutton, Great Britain coach, talked of removing the names from the highly charged conundrum. The names will be replaced by coloured lines on a graph, one belonging to Hoy and the other to Kenny (right). Their performances are tracked scientifically. But, of course, the selectors have to know which line corresponds to which rider.

‘Pure speed (Kenny) versus power, so how do you pick?’ mused Sutton.

‘It’s an ongoing process but a beautiful situation to be in. Given what I am seeing from Sir Chris of late, he is coming back to his best, but then again Jason is on fire. It’s going to be tough. There is no set formula. But whoever performs best at the World Championships will have a foot in the door.’

A selection panel, including Sutton and chaired by performance director Dave Brailsford, will then finalise who wins the place.

Hoy and Kenny rarely race against each other in training but they know each other well.

Does that produce a different dynamic when they meet in battle?

‘It does,’ said Hoy. ‘I tell myself that it doesn’t matter who you race against, you try to expose their weaknesses. The only difference is that they know your weaknesses. It just makes it a bit more of a mind game, a cat-and-mouse strategy.

‘It’s war on the track but as soon as it’s finished you shake hands.’

The action starts with qualification in the men’s and women’s team pursuits today. It builds to a crescendo on Sunday: the men’s team pursuit in an anticipated final against the might of Australia. And that Olympic matter of Hoy v Kenny.